19/09/23 (Agence Europe) – The euro area annual inflation rate stood at 5.2% in August compared to 5.3% in July, according to figures that the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) published on Tuesday, 19 September. In the European Union, it was 5.9% compared to 6.1% the previous month. The lowest annual rates were observed in Denmark (2.3%), Spain (2.4%), and Belgium (2.4%), while the highest rates were recorded in Hungary (14.2%), the Czech Republic (10.1%), and Slovakia (9.6%). Prices rose 5.5% in Italy, 5.7% in France, and 6.4% in Germany. In August, the largest contributions to inflation came from services (+2.41 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco (+1.98 pp); non-energy industrial goods (+1.19 pp); and energy (−0.34 pp). (MB)